Artisans Guild – Fate’s Gauntlet
©Geoffrey Schumann. Not for resale. Permission is granted to print this document for personal use only.
Act 1: Introduction and Challenge Presentation
Scene 1: The Gathering
Setting: The bustling Great Hall of Innovations, filled with curious minds from all corners of the kingdom.
Characters Introduced: The Facilitator (guide and judge), the Participants (heroes), and Observers (other NPCs).
Plot: The Facilitator opens the event by explaining the significance of innovation and introduces a pressing, unresolved practical problem plaguing the kingdom: a draught that threatens the crops.
Challenge: Invent a solution using unconventional methods. Each group or individual is provided with a set of odd items: enchanted seeds, a miniature cloud in a bottle, a mirror that reflects future weather, and a tome of forgotten lore.
Scene 2: Team Formation and Planning
Setting: Smaller brainstorming rooms, filled with tools and magical artifacts.
Plot: Participants form teams or decide to work solo. They discuss their skills and how they might use the provided items creatively.
Dramatic Question: How can they best combine their abilities and the strange items to solve the drought?
Act 2: Experimentation and Setbacks
Scene 1: Trials and Errors
Setting: Experimental fields and alchemist labs.
Plot: Teams work on their inventions. They face setbacks, such as unintended weather anomalies caused by the cloud, or cryptic predictions from the mirror.
Climax: One of the inventions goes awry, causing a small flood. This setback requires teams to either persevere, pivot, or consider withdrawal.
Dramatic Question: Will the participants push through the challenges or withdraw from the competition?
Scene 2: The Pivot
Setting: Regrouping at the brainstorming room.
Plot: Participants deal with their setbacks. Some may choose to withdraw, maintaining their status quo but struggling with feelings of failure. Others adjust their strategies, perhaps combining resources with other teams.
Success/Failure: Teams that persevere refine their solutions, learning from mistakes and integrating insights gained from failures.
Act 3: Final Presentations and Outcomes
Scene 1: The Showcase
Setting: The Great Hall of Innovations, now transformed for a grand exhibition.
Plot: Each remaining team presents their invention. The uses of unconventional methods are evident: one team might have created a weather control device from the mirror and the cloud, another might have used the enchanted seeds to grow a plant that attracts rain clouds.
Climax: The Facilitator and Observers judge the inventions based on creativity, practicality, and effectiveness.
Scene 2: Resolution and Reflection
Setting: The same grand hall, post-judgment.
Plot: The winning team is awarded a trophy of innovation. All participants reflect on their experiences, gaining intelligence and problem-solving abilities from the success, or losing wisdom due to their flaws but learning valuable lessons.
Dramatic Question Resolved: How have the characters grown or changed through this challenge?
GM’s Tips:
For “The Innovator’s Challenge,” focus on facilitating creativity and resilience among players. Encourage them to think outside the box by providing intriguing and multifunctional items that spark imaginative solutions. As the GM, adapt to the participants’ ideas and allow their inventions to impact the story significantly, even if it means deviating from the planned narrative. Be prepared to manage failures as learning opportunities, and highlight how each setback can lead to greater insights and unexpected story twists. Make sure to balance the technical aspects of the challenge with character development, encouraging players to explore their characters’ motivations and growth throughout the adventure. Finally, keep the pace engaging by introducing mini-challenges or sudden complications that require quick thinking
